HI! welcome to my [Maokai] build. Before I get into anything, I'll briefly explain why I decided to make this guide.

Maokai, is an extremely underrated champion in this game. If built correctly, he can 1v1 99% of champions. (unless they are explicitly built as being a tank buster, one example being Kog'Maw, which means you will need to coordinate with your team to focus them out first.) Maokai can take an unbelievable amount of damage, laughing at turrets as they throw gumballs at your face, and even use a combination of items, and spells to deal an unexpected amount of damage to even the strongest of champs. Not only is he a good champion on his own, but his in-your-face crowd control allows your team to get that extra second of damage on the carry, or slow them down enough just long enough for your team to fall behind a turret if they are being chased.

with any champ, it is still possible for you to die. If you decide to chase a champ into enemy territory, and at least 2 or 3 others join in, you most likely will go down if you have no help. Also, mana should always be one of the most important things to you. Without mana, you will basically just be a dead tree... no one is afraid of a dead tree... Since Maokai's ult has a relatively low cooldown compared to other champs, treat your clarity like your ult... it can save a fight for you and your team.

When I play LoL, i generally prefer 3v3 ranked, but I also Duo que 5v5 (solo top) on occasion. The build is pretty much the same in both, however I more often finish a whole build in 3v3's than Duo. Your roles (which i will explain more in depth later on) in 3v3 and 5v5 are as follow...

Seeing as Maokai will be used, in essence, as a brick wall, tanky runes are the way to go.